Business & Finance

ByCompiled from wire service reports by Robert Kilborn, Ross Atkin and Sheera FrenkelJune 1, 2004

German plumbing and bathroom giant Grohe Holding GmbH, was sold to American investors Texas Pacific Group, a buyout firm, and Credit Suisse First Boston Inc. for an undisclosed amount over the weekend, according to Bloomberg.com. The Wall Street Journal reported a sales price of $1.84 billion to acquire Grohe, which makes faucets, shower heads, and toilet-flushing mechanisms. The new owners reportedly want to build on Grohe's international business, which operates in 130 countries.

Newbridge Capital will become the first Western group to take control of a Chinese bank when it buys approximately 348 million shares or nearly an 18 percent stake of Shenzhen Development Bank, the Financial Times reported Monday. The deal makes Newbridge Capital, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the largest shareholder of the bank. Until now, no other institution was allowed to own more than 10 percent of a domestic Chinese lender. The sale is being hailed as a landmark of China's willingness to open its financial institutions to foreign ownership.

Citigroup Venture Capital Equity Partners, a unit of Citigroup Inc., will buy part of Hynix Semiconductor Inc.'s chip business for $820 million in cash and assumed debt, according to creditor officials cited Monday by Bloomberg.com. Hynix hopes that the sale will cut its $3.6 billion debt and help it compete against industry giants Samsung Electronics Co. and Micron Technology. Citigroup, the world's largest financial services company, had made earlier offers of approximately $645 million and $465 million.

Billionaire Philip Green, one of the world's 100 wealthiest persons, is prepared to invest $1.83 billion to buy retailer Marks & Spencer Group Plc, Britain's largest seller of clothing, London's Sunday Times reported. A meeting with the Marks & Spencer board may occur this week to present the the terms of the offer.

Terna SpA, the owner of 94 percent of Italy's power grid, said it will invest $1.21 billion in a four-year plan to expand the system and reduce the risk of blackouts as demand rises in Europe's fourth-biggest energy market, Bloomberg.com reported over the weekend. Electrical demand is projected to increase 3.2 percent annually.